


Three Things That Are Not the Reasons Why Commander Cody Began to Wear a Certain Uniform Accessory, and One That Is

by TrickyTricky



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Fluff, Hero Worship, M/M, Multi, Polyamory, This whole story is pretty much just a ridiculously transparent excuse to get Obi-Wan to take a nap, actually, clone culture, naps
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2019-08-03 21:57:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,400
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16333967
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrickyTricky/pseuds/TrickyTricky
Summary: Rex heard a loud clatter and a soft curse from the other side of the bridge and turned in time to see one of his soft-shell brethren leaning down to pick up a dropped datapad. The trooper had obviously just turned from his station and caught sight of the 212th Commander’s new accoutrements. Rex watched, vaguely amused and entirely sympathetic, as the hapless trooper fumbled blindly across the deck, trying to feel for the dropped piece of equipment without taking his eyes off the visual feast that had just sauntered through the door.





	Three Things That Are Not the Reasons Why Commander Cody Began to Wear a Certain Uniform Accessory, and One That Is

**Author's Note:**

> This brainworm got into my head and wouldn't leave me alone until it was written. 
> 
> Check out the end notes for some awesome art that is a fun visual tie-in with the conclusion.

1.  
Rex knew he was comically overreacting, but somehow still couldn’t seem to stop the train wreck of whatever it was his face was deciding to do. A stupid little spike of pain flared in his neck as his head whipped back around in a classic double-take when he actually processed what Cody was wearing as he walked onto the bridge. 

Technically, there was nothing incorrect about it. Officers had the leeway to modify their armor kits in all sorts of specialized ways. As he knew himself, this particular accessory was listed in the GAR regs as an authorized optional uniform item.

It was just that...something about it looked _wrong_ on the other man. Not _bad_ wrong, per se, _definitely_ not bad. Just…different-wrong. A sort of distracting, attention-grabbing wrongness that really only helped draw the eye down towards... 

It was at this point Rex realized the extent to which his thoughts had wandered out of their hyperspace lane and gave himself a sharp mental slap to get back on track.

Rex heard a loud clatter and a soft curse from the other side of the bridge and turned in time to see one of his soft-shell brethren leaning down to pick up a dropped datapad. The trooper had obviously just turned from his station and caught sight of the 212th Commander’s new accoutrements. Rex watched, vaguely amused and entirely sympathetic, as the hapless trooper fumbled blindly across the deck, trying to feel for the dropped piece of equipment without taking his eyes off the visual feast that had just sauntered through the door. 

He wasn’t imagining the newly-added swagger in Cody’s gait as he approached where Rex was standing by the central holo-comm station. Everyone knew wearing the _kama_ tended to have that effect, even on the clone troopers who genuinely opted to wear them for purely utilitarian reasons.

Rex opened his mouth to speak and to his complete and total embarrassment, it was several long drawn-out seconds before he found any words to actually fill it. When his brain finally rebooted enough to recover some level of coherency, even he could admit it wasn’t a particular impressive greeting that he managed to spit out.

“What the actual, ever-loving _kriff_ , Cody?”

“I’ll admit to a little bit of disappointment,” Cody replied with a knowing smirk that said he knew exactly the effect his wardrobe change would have, the smug bastard. “I wanted to catch you down in the wardroom earlier. I was really hoping to get a dramatic spit take out of you when you first caught sight of it.”

“So, you’re just doing this to try to get a rise out of me then, is that it?” Rex asked, crossing his arms over his chest defensively at the gentle teasing. He immediately wished he could swallow the words back down his throat at the gleeful expression in Cody’s eyes as the accidental double entendre hit home. 

Rex didn’t know if it was mercy or a form of mild torture when Cody let it pass without comment as a few more officers began to trickle in to join them for the scheduled briefing.

 _Should have known better_ , he thought to himself, closing his eyes and sighing in resignation when Cody leaned in close and whispered something just for his ears.

“No, that’s not the reason why. Just a particularly pleasant bonus.” Rex didn’t let himself so much as twitch at the barely-there caress of breathe against his ear. “A few of us are getting together in the nook over behind the aft fire suppression lockers tonight after the briefing if you want to join us for some fun. We can see if I can still get a rise out of you then.”

To his mortification Rex felt his cheeks warming a little as he studiously kept his eyes on the tactical map displayed in front of them and made the deliberate choice to ignore Cody’s smug chuckle as he tapped out a silent acceptance of the invitation against the commander’s gauntlet.

 

2.  
Boil hit the tree trunk harder than he would have liked, but couldn’t afford to slow down his all-out sprint before reaching the cover it provided. He could hear Waxer and the rest of their squad sliding into positions nearby, zigging and zagging among the sparse tree cover in an attempt to avoid the heavy bursts of laser and mortar fire that was blanketing the whole area.

 _That’ll definitely leave a bruise_ , he mused, flexing the arm that had taken the brunt of the impact gingerly and frowning sourly at the new crack running through his shoulder pauldron. _Well, that’s just great._

He ducked back, throwing up an arm reflexively as a mortar shell exploded about 30 paces away from his position, kicking up a fountain of harmless heated earth and pebbles that rained down on his head. The small group stayed hunkered down; popping out from cover occasionally to get a shot off, but not able to move forward through the constant barrage of enemy fire that kept them pinned down in their current positions. 

Unless something changed the equation, and fast, this battle was going to turn real ugly, real quick.

As if Boil had willed him into being with his thoughts, he caught sight of a bright blue streak moving swiftly to his left, resolving itself into the beige and white uniform of their Jedi general charging forward at almost supernatural speeds, followed closely behind by a group of 212th reinforcements. 

With a yell and a gesture forwards, Boil fell into position behind General Kenobi, trusting that the Jedi would do everything possible to deflect the deadly rain of laser fire long enough for the clone troopers to do their part and take out the shooters.

It was working; they were holding steady and reducing the enemy forces, but it wasn’t quite enough to allow them to advance quickly enough to gain a real advantage. 

At the perfect moment to turn the tide, Commander Cody materialized with the other half of the battalion, leading the charge himself and nimbly dodging around exploding rounds and shrapnel, his men curving wide and cutting a huge swath through the enemy’s vulnerable left flank. 

What followed was a mess of chaos and noise and hyper-focused concentration as Boil’s world was reduced to the simple task of destroying as many of the enemy droids as he could reach until the last of them had fallen. 

After that, all that was left was the mopping up.

Commander Cody sent out the regroup signal via their HUDs, and gestured for a huddle to all those in visual range. They had a few priceless moments in the eye of the storm to regroup, catch their breaths, and hydrate before they would begin another push forward, attempting to pin down another isolated enemy group and wipe them out.

Boil, already in a bad mood due to the damaged pauldron he would need to replace and repaint once they made it back to the ship, let out a blistering string of curses when a sharp pain made itself known in his leg. The surging adrenaline in the heat of battle had kept him from noticing previously, but a tiny trickle of blood was dripping down onto his boot, and it looked like the foreign object that had flown up and hit him was still stuck in there.

_Fantastic. Now I’ll have to coax the supply officer into issuing me a replacement set of blacks, too._

Waxer hurried over at the commotion and clicked his tongue in affectionate reprimand once he saw the issue. “Nothing to cause a riot about, it’s just a little cut.” 

Boil softened despite himself, relaxing a little as Waxer knelt down, regardless of his dismissive words, and began fussing with the small wound in his thigh. He carefully extracted the little piece of metal shrapnel that had barely cut deep enough to penetrate the skin, lodged between two pieces of his leg armor. A quick spray of bacta from the lieutenant’s medkit and an adhesive was in place before Boil had a chance to protest that they weren’t needed.

“You should be more careful,” Waxer said softly, one hand still resting gently on Boil’s knee to keep his balance as he crouched next to him. “Next time it could be worse, and I don’t know how I’d keep doing this without you here fighting by my side.”

That was.... That was putting into words some of the very ideas he had been struggling to formulate himself. It was also creating a warmth in his belly that he didn’t really feel equipped to deal with while he was standing in a field on a hostile planet surrounded by a few dozen of his fellow troopers. And if there was one thing Boil had truly mastered over the years, it was the art of emotional deflection.

“I guess I’ll just have to deal with it,” he proclaimed loudly, startling Waxer and catching the attention of every trooper in the immediate area. “After all, we can’t all have a fancy new skirt to wear to the ball and keep that nasty dirt from kicking up onto our legs, now can we?” 

There was a collectively indrawn breath and a rash of nervous giggles among the men as Commander Cody slowly raised his head from where he was leaning forward, consulting with General Kenobi in hushed whispers. An anticipatory silence fell as the Commander’s head turned with deliberate slowness to face the Sergeant who had just publicly called him out.

“I never took you for a whiner, Sergeant Boil,” everyone watched in spellbound silence as the Commander smoothly unclipped a couple of snaps, removing the panels of his new _kama_ from his waist and hefting the bundle thoughtfully in one hand. “That’s certainly not the purpose _I_ need it for; a little agility goes a long way in that respect. If you wanted to borrow these to protect your precious little leggies from getting dirty, you should have just said so in the first place!”

With the last word, Commander Cody moved with the speed of a striking acklay, flinging the flexible panels at the hapless trooper and catching him completely by surprise. Boil flailed comically for a moment, his yell of surprise muffled by the lengths of reinforced fabric and leather tangled around his helmet.

The intent silence and post-battle tension was broken by a rolling wave of all-out gales of laughter as the entire company was treated to the ongoing spectacle of Waxer chasing after a stumbling sergeant, trying to help untangle the blinded man while ducking and weaving to avoid his wildly swinging arms.

 

3.  
It had been a long time since that old youthful hero-worship had reared its head to this degree. Gearshift was a relatively new check-in with the 212th, and to be perfectly honest he was still a little shell shocked at his amazing fortune in being assigned to the very battalion that _the_ Marshal Commander Cody, responsible for an entire Sector Army, had taken personal command of.

Cody had always been somewhat of a legend to his contemporaries and to those who had come through the program after him. He had been singled out early-on by the trainers and program directors for his physical strength, coordination, and precision, his cool decision-making under pressure, and his unmatched tactical brilliance. A few of the records he had set in the ranges and training sims still stood to this day back on Kamino, years after his graduation.

More important than any of that as far as his fellow troopers were concerned, was that anyone with eyes could see that CC-2224, Cody as he eventually named himself, had always cared about, and taken care of, those around him. He would let a higher score pass by to make sure a brother who was struggling would make minimum numbers in a training exercise and he always seemed to have a sixth sense about when someone was reaching a breaking point with the stress and needed to be pulled aside for a private word of encouragement and motivation.

Gearshift had only been a couple of years behind Cody in the training program, but it had felt like a gap that could never be bridged back then. Which he had always figured was just as well.

Commander Cody had represented his ideal in every aspect, made flesh. He had been quite content keeping him up high on his pedestal where he rightly belonged. Whenever Gearshift felt himself faltering, he had encouraged himself by imaging Cody there, urging him onward. Whenever he set a goal for himself, he based it on an accomplishment he knew was possible because his personal hero had done it first.

Gearshift had enjoyed his share of liaisons with his fellow soldiers, delighting in the shared company and the pleasures and comfort that could be found with them. Long before the clones had marched out into the galaxy to defend the Republic, they had begun to establish their own unique ways, their own codes and rules of social interactions. 

Within their own network, the sharing of physical pleasures had never been taboo, or shameful, as they eventually learned it was for many of the other cultures scattered throughout the galaxy. While score placement, and later rank, was never permitted to have bearing in the pleasure nooks they found, tucked away from the eyes of the trainers, it wasn’t uncommon for individuals to decide on their own limitations and personal interests in choosing how they wanted to spend their recreation time and who they wanted to spend it with. The only two ironclad rules that no one dared violate for fear of total ostracism was informed consent, always, and no lasting effects that could interfere with a soldier’s performance on the field. 

Before the Jedi had arrived and the call to arms had come, Cody had also been known throughout the ranks on Kamino for his, to put it delicately…. virility. As popular as he was as a partner and group-mate, it wasn’t hard for someone to ask around in Tipoca City and find out the preferences and limits Cody had chosen to operate by; back then, as adult as he had felt at the time, Gearshift had been too young to be in the age-range Cody accepted his partners within. 

That was alright though. There was never any shortage of partners to share comfort and pleasure with among one’s own cohort for those interested in such things, and Gearshift had never felt himself lacking. If every now and then he’d opt to spend an evening alone, his sleep pod private and retracted, and paint vivid and drawn-out fantasy scenes on the backs of his eyelids, that was no one’s business but his own.

Now, Gearshift was well within an acceptable age-range, and knew for a fact that Commander Cody had no qualms about finding opportunities for comfort and pleasure among his men when they had opportunity to relax and bond in such a way. Gearshift hadn’t quite got the nerve up yet to make his way into one of the group sessions that materialized occasionally. But he was working up to that. He tried to still the buzzing flutters that materialized in his gut at the thought and continued to push it aside for now, telling himself, one day soon.

As it turned out, perhaps he’d work up the nerve a little quicker than he had previously thought.

Gearshift had no idea whether the Commander had added the hip-hugging _kama_ , accented with 212th gold, to his uniform kit in a deliberate attempt to make himself even more tempting and irresistible to all of the troopers who served under and around him. 

Probably not.

That didn’t really seem like his style. 

But if he did, it was certainly working.

 

 

_One._

The encampment was as close to peaceful as they ever saw, the fighting settled on this continent for now. The automated sensor nets were up and running, and would alert them to any danger, but their sweep of the area had been thorough and no one was expecting any trouble. Tomorrow they would load up the gunships and transport carriers and move out to where the fighting was hot again. But for today, General Kenobi had declared the remaining hours free from duty, and the troopers were released to find what rest and relaxation they could. 

There was an unhurried feel in the air, troopers walking around in plain blacks and half-disassembled armor kits, enjoying the feel of the sun on their bare faces and congregating in groups here and there. Conversations began to flow more freely and laughter to ring out more frequently as brothers finished their last tasks and joined in with those already let loose. Flasks began to pass from hand to hand, only the bare minimum attempts at discretion being made. The officers carefully pretended to see nothing untowards, while occasionally nipping out of sight in small groups to share their own stashes amongst themselves. 

Cody had been the butt of gentle teasing and jokes for as long as he could remember, on account of his tendency to think things through, to consider all the angles, to understand the full environment and potential repercussions before acting, whenever feasible. He didn’t mind; it wasn’t a tendency he was interested in giving up, no matter how many eyerolls it earned from his more relaxed and easy-going brothers. His meticulous nature had meant the difference between success and failure on the battlefield more than once.

And it certainly came in handy when there was something he very much wanted to accomplish _off_ of the battlefield as well.

Cody fully expected a certain level of resistance, so had enlisted a bit of extra help to ease things along. He made eye contact with Waxer, who had positioned himself such that he could keep an eye on the intended ambush site. Cody inclined his head a little in acknowledgement when Waxer signalled a quick _all clear_. He made his way over to the command tent and took a moment to appreciate his impeccable timing when he heard General Kenobi’s chiding tones, urging the last lingering men to lock up their workstations and join the revelry outside. 

“That goes for you too, Sir,” Cody said firmly, ducking into the tent and shifting smoothly past the departing wave of eager troopers. “We can monitor the nets just as easily on our wrist-comms. No need to stay cooped up in a stuffy tent when there’s plenty of daylight left to enjoy.”

“You know, I think you may be right, Commander,” Kenobi replied, raising his arms over his head and clasping his hands together, indulging in a long, spine-cracking stretch that brought him up on his toes. “It has been far too long since we had the opportunity to enjoy a little peace and sunshine.”

The acquiescent words and small, but genuine, smile that was sent his way as Kenobi walked over to join him were an honest surprise. He squinted at the general suspiciously. This was far too easy.

Cody held the tent flap open and stood aside as Kenobi ducked out before him with a nod of thanks. They both paused once outside, Kenobi blinking into the bright sunlight as his eyes adjusted. As he took in the happy, relaxed faces around them, the bright conversations and occasional raucous cheer, something in the general seemed to ease. He doubted he would ever truly understand the Force, or what it meant to be immersed in it every moment the way the Jedi were, but sometimes he could see the effects of it. Right now, General Kenobi was almost visibly absorbing the happiness and goodwill around him, the almost-constant crease between his eyebrows smoothing out as his face relaxed into a peaceful expression. Cody watched as his eyes fluttered closed for a moment, the better to savor the rare atmosphere full of warmth and care and safety. 

_He’s sort of like a plant_ , Cody thought to himself, an amused little smile sneaking onto his lips. _Only instead of sunlight, we need to make sure he gets a dose of positive energy to soak up from time to time._

Feeling greatly daring, Cody reached out and rested his hand lightly on the small of his general’s back, his smile widening another notch when the man next to him responded immediately to the butterfly-soft pressure and moved alongside him in the direction he indicated. 

Men called out friendly greetings as they passed, but no one tried to stop them with conversation and Cody made sure they didn’t lose any momentum en route their destination. Kenobi looked up at him, eyebrows raised in question when Cody drew them to a stop next to a stack of ordinary looking supply crates. There was a rough blanket folded neatly nearby that Cody shook out and laid flat on the dirt ground, sitting down himself, arranging the panels of his _kama_ so they lay flat against his thighs and leaning back against the crates. He waved grandly toward the space beside him in invitation.

“I thought we might relax here in the sun for a little while and read,” Cody said in explanation, holding up a spare datapad in offering to the man still standing next to him, peering down at him skeptically with his lips pursed and hands now on his hips. “I downloaded that botany article you mentioned you were interested in reviewing.”

Kenobi looked around and seemed to take in the perfectly situated placement of the quiet little nook, the crates stacked and positioned just so, providing a sturdy surface to lean back against, still allowing the warm sunlight unfettered access, and giving just the right amount of shelter from curious, prying eyes, while being close enough to be perfectly accessible should there by any trouble.

After a moment, his lips quirked up wryly and with an easy, wordless shrug, he folded himself down to kneel smoothly on the blanket, scooting over next to him to lean back against the crates at Cody’s side. Cody heard his own throat click a little as he swallowed. 

There was something about the way nearly all of the Jedi moved, almost like the normal rules of gravity and mass just didn’t apply, a lovely graceful lightness imbuing everything they did. And while that might be true for their people as a whole, Cody was convinced that his Jedi still stood out as special among the rest. Kenobi always moved with a nimble elegance, each motion somehow both deliberate and casual at the same time, in a way that put all the others to shame, even while doing something so simple as easing himself to his knees and situating himself comfortably on a blanket.

Cody handed over the datapad without another word, enjoying the quiet air of contented peace that had fallen softly between them, pulling another out for himself and opening the file for a novel he had been looking forward to starting. 

 

 

 

Cody had caught himself nearly holding his breath once or twice as Kenobi’s head had started to nod shortly after they truly relaxed, the lack of sleep that always ended up accumulating on these campaigns finally catching up with him. He had jerked himself back to alertness once or twice, before Cody had laid one hand lightly on his general’s shoulder and pressed down in gentle suggestion. Like everything else so far that day, it went over shockingly easily, Kenobi leaning down with perfectly compliant trust to lay his head against Cody’s thigh and come to rest there. The little sleepy hum of appreciation his general made and the contented way he nuzzled his cheek against the soft, padded weave of the _kama_ that pillowed his rest nearly undid Cody.

By the time Wooley wandered over to check in on them about an hour later, the sun was just beginning to descend toward the planet’s horizon, still lending some of its warmth, but beginning to hint at the coming chill of twilight. The spare datapad lay abandoned near one of Kenobi’s limp hands, his arms folded gently around his own chest as he slept, curled up peacefully on his side with his head resting in his commander’s lap. Cody’s own hand never paused its gentle stroking motion through soft auburn hair as he looked up at the other trooper in question.

Seeing that all was well, that their general was resting and secure and indisputably _theirs_ , Wooley grinned at the adorable picture the two of them made and aimed a cheeky little hand signal in his commander’s direction: _mission objective achieved_. Cody raised a vaguely threatening eyebrow in the other’s direction. Every one of them knew better than to disturb Kenobi once someone finally talked him into stealing a bit of rest, but sometimes enthusiasm got the better of troopers. 

Wooley just shook his head with an exaggerated grimace of disappointment at the lack of trust and unfolded a length of thick brown cloth that had been draped over one arm, holding it up in question. Cody had to let the mock-frown fall off his face to let it transform into a gentle smile as he nodded, never pausing the gentle strokes of his fingers through hair as soft as silk as Wooley stepped forward and settled one of the general’s many wandering cloaks over top of his sleeping form, guarding him from any chance of a chill.

Wooley nodded with satisfaction and turned to leave, content with a job well done. Cody watched curiously as his brother suddenly froze stock still after only a few steps, before whirling around and staring at the two men on the ground. Wooley’s mouth opened and closed in silent indignation several times (even in the grip of this sudden fit, he knew better than to wake sleeping generals) before he wordlessly pointed one finger, shaking in outrage, first at the newly acquired _kama_ his commander was sporting, then at the softly compliant Jedi napping with his cheek resting upon it, and back at the _kama_ once more.

Cody made no attempt to tone down the smugness that he knew he was projecting as he lifted his free hand from where it lay relaxed at his side and signed back simply: _Accurate assessment_.

**Author's Note:**

> Edit: The amazing[ aiwa-sensei ](http://aiwa-sensei.tumblr.com/)created this awesome piece of[ art ](http://aiwa-sensei.tumblr.com/image/179559956420) . You should definitely check it out! 
> 
> I'm not a terribly active poster compared to some, but if anyone is so inclined feel free to come over and say hi on [ tumblr ](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/trickytricky1) or [ pillowfort ](https://www.pillowfort.io/trickytricky)
> 
> I'm always down to chitchat about some ridiculous space wizards and adorable clone babies.


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